Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy was born on January 17, 1980, in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. At the time, Ukraine, known by the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. His mother, Larisa Chmerkovskaya, is Christian, and his father, Aleksandr "Sasha" Chmerkovskiy, is Jewish; Chmerkovskiy has described himself as Jewish. He has a younger brother, Valentin Chmerkovskiy (born 1986), who is also a professional dancer. Chmerkovskiy began dancing at the age of four when his parents enrolled him in a school of aesthetic education. At age 13, he broke his right leg in a skiing accident and had a titanium rod put in to stabilize his leg. Doctors foresaw long-term difficulties and little possibility of a dancing career; however, he recovered and was dancing again six months later. The family immigrated to Brooklyn, New York, in 1994. The challenges of immigration for Chmerkovskiy and his family included financial and language barriers. On his second day in the United States, Chmerkovskiy had a new pair of roller blades stolen. Moving to the United States also gave Chmerkovskiy the opportunity to rededicate himself to dance. At 15 he began working at a local Russian restaurant, dancing as entertainment. Working at the restaurant, Chmerkovskiy decided winning competitions as a dancer would be a way to argue for higher pay. ==Competitive dancing==

As a dancer, Chmerkovskiy competed at the professional level in the International Latin category. With partner Elena Grinenko, with whom Chmerkovskiy competed from 2002 to 2005, Chmerkovskiy achieved the rank of 2nd in the United States and 7th in the world among professional international Latin couples. • 2005 Blackpool Dance Festival Semi-Finalist • 2004 Manhattan Dancesport Professional Latin Champion • 2004 Nevada Star Ball Champion • 2004 World Masters Finalist • 2004 Moscow Kremlin Cup Finalist • 2004 Philadelphia Dancesport Festival Champion • 2003 All England Champion • 2003 Ohio Star Ball Latin Champion • 2003 La Classique du Quebec Champion Opening dance studios At age 16, Chmerkovskiy and his father opened a youth-oriented competitive dance studio, Rising Stars Dance Academy, on the second floor of a building his father owned in Ridgewood, New Jersey. In addition to Rising Stars, Chmerkovskiy owns several social and competitive dance studios under the brand "Dance With Me." Most are in the New York metropolitan area. ==Dancing with the Stars==

Pro dancer Chmerkovskiy competed as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars for fifteen seasons. He was often referred to as "the bad boy of the ballroom." Seasons 2–6 Chmerkovskiy first appeared in the second season of the ABC series Dancing with the Stars partnered with actress Tia Carrere. The pair's most successful dance was their tango. They finished in sixth place. The following season, he and partner singer Willa Ford came in seventh place. Chmerkovskiy returned to Dancing with the Stars in March 2007 for Season 4, this time partnered with boxer Laila Ali. They made it to the finals and finished in third place. In Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars, he was partnered with Melanie Brown and the couple received second place. Following the season 5 finale, Chmerkovskiy reportedly told TV Guide Magazine he would not be returning to the show, something he later told People Magazine he had announced his departure because of stress. Chmerkovskiy did not compete in Season 6, although he and former partner Melanie Brown made an appearance for the 100th episode. Seasons 7–9 He returned for the show's seventh season, this time paired with two-time Olympic volleyball gold medalist, Misty May-Treanor. Chmerkovskiy and May-Treanor were forced to withdraw from the competition in Week 3. During a practice for their jive, May-Treanor ruptured her Achilles tendon and required surgery. Her withdrawal gave them a finish in 10th place. On February 9, 2009, Good Morning America announced that he would be paired with Denise Richards for the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars. They were eliminated second in the competition, giving the pair a finish of 12th place. In the ninth season, he was paired with actress Debi Mazar, during which they were eliminated fourth. Halfway through season 9, Chmerkovskiy partnered Joanna Krupa for one week while Derek Hough was ill. Krupa and Chmerkovskiy danced an Argentine Tango and participated in the '70s themed group dance. Andrews and Chmerkovskiy's partnership was notable for their good rapport and Chmerkovskiy was protective of Andrews as she coped with threats. They ended up coming in third place during the two-hour finale on May 25, 2010. For season 11, Chmerkovskiy partnered with singer and actress, Brandy. They made it to the semi-finals but were eliminated with a fourth-place finish. Their elimination was viewed as shocking because they were consistently among the highest scoring couples each week. For Season 12, he was paired with actress Kirstie Alley. On week 3, his leg gave out causing her to fall heavily on him, earning 21 points (out of 30). The next week, Alley's shoe fell off during their routine. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba called Alley "The Queen of the Unexpected Mishap." In April the show aired a rehearsal outtake of Chmerkovskiy giving a monologue which resulted in him often being referred to as "sex on a stick." For season 13, Chmerkovskiy was partnered with Hope Solo and they finished in fourth place. He faced controversy for his comments aimed at Judge Len Goodman who described his and Solo's rumba as the "worst dance of the season". Chmerkovskiy attacked Goodman, suggesting that, "maybe it’s time" for Goodman to leave the business after 50 years. Carrie Ann Inaba called him out on the spot for being disrespectful. He responded by saying "With all due respect, this is my show". He later doubled down saying, "Don’t tell me it was your worst dance of the season because you’re an idiot, you know it’s not true". On ABC News with Robin Roberts Chmerkovskiy defended his comments adding "I have nothing to apologize for to Len, certainly not to Carrie Ann". In Solo's 2012 autobiography, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, she alleged Cherkovskiy "manhandled me in rehearsals from the start, pushing me, whacking my stomach, bending my arms roughly" adding "Maks was rough and mean with me, flinging me and pushing me around." He has denied the allegations. Seasons 14–18 For season 14, he was partnered with actress Melissa Gilbert. In week 4, while performing the paso doble, Gilbert hit her head on the dance floor and suffered a mild concussion. She was rushed to the hospital and was unable to be at the results show the following night. The couple was called safe. Chmerkovskiy also suffered an injury, pulling a muscle in his shoulder. The couple was eliminated four weeks later, finishing in fifth place. For season 15, an All-Stars season, Maksim returned to the dance floor with previous partner, Kirstie Alley. In week 1, they received the second-lowest score, 19. In week 3, Alley and Chmerkovskiy danced a Cha-Cha-Cha, they scored 17 . Alley and Chmerkovskiy earned 24. Alley and Chmerkovskiy were eliminated in week 8 alongside Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd in a double elimination. In February 2013, Chmerkovskiy announced his departure from Dancing with the Stars for Season 16. Chmerkovskiy returned on the fifth week of Season 16 for "Len's Side-By-Side Challenge", where he danced with Anna Trebunskaya in an Argentine Tango with brother Val and his partner Zendaya and in a Jive with Jacoby Jones and his partner Karina Smirnoff. Prior to the full cast announcement, US Weekly reported Chmerkovskiy would return to Dancing for season 18 after a two-season break. Chmerkovskiy was paired with Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis. They were announced the winners on May 20, 2014, marking Chmerkovskiy's first win. At the end of Season 18, they had the highest average of any dancers of the show with a 28.4 average, and were tied for the most perfect scores, earning a total of six. Seasons 23–26 On August 25, 2016, following the circulation of a reportedly new photo of Chmerkovskiy in costume for DWTS, Chmerkovskiy confirmed his return to the show in an appearance on Good Morning America. Season 23 was Chmerkovskiy's first as a competing pro since winning the competition in season 18. The full cast was officially announced on August 30, at which point ABC confirmed Chmerkovskiy was partnered with model Amber Rose. They were eliminated on week 6 of the competition, finishing in 9th place. After his season 23 elimination, Chmerkovskiy said he did not plan to return for season 24. Nevertheless, in February 2017, Chmerkovskiy and his fiancée Peta Murgatroyd announced they both would return as professionals. He was partnered with actress Heather Morris. Chmerkovskiy however, missed 4 weeks of competition due to an injury. Morris and Chmerkovskiy were eliminated on week 6 after receiving a perfect 40 and finished in 8th place. Chmerkovskiy returned for season 25, and was paired with television personality Vanessa Lachey. They were eliminated on week 7 of the competition, in a double elimination and finished in seventh place. On April 5, 2018, Chmerkovskiy announced in an interview that he was officially done as a DWTS pro. Results Guest judge For season 17, he was a guest judge during the semifinals in Week 10. Chmerkovskiy returned to the ballroom as a guest judge during Week 5 of Season 21. Chmerkovskiy again returned to the judge's desk in Week 5 of Season 22, switch-up week.